Chris TownsendRattlesnakes and Bald Eagles: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

I loved this book, the hike was in 1982. Chris knew his stuff, having lived in the PNW all my life, it was wonderful to have someone who knew the trees, flowers, mountain descriptions and appreciate every part of his hike from the desert, deep woods and high mountains. His hike was not about the mileage, but the total experience and appreciation for the wild. I loved it.He was all about the trail itself.

Actually, three and a half stars. I have a lot of respect for Townsend, who is an accomplished long distance hiker. Townsend loves wilderness and solitude and as such his writing excludes much of the social adventures that have become the center of so many hiking narratives today. He also believes in the integrity of the route and you’ll not find him skipping sections, hitchhiking and that type of thing. This book is about his 1982 PCT thru hike. There are parts of it that inspire and the technique of blending trail narrative with photography adds much to the volume. What I didn’t like as well was the seemingly continuous point to point guidebook type description… I hiked uphill one mile to Angel’s Rest, then downhill to Happy Valley on this hot day, etc. Long distance hiking is repetitive, but a lot of the text was apparently transcribed from his journal and it makes for some slow and unexciting reading. Notwithstanding, there is much to enjoy here.

I have read many books on thru hiking the PCT, and have hiked much of the PCT in Washington state where I lived and roamed for 37 years. In fact, I have read three such books as Townsend's book "Rattlesnakes . . .." In the past month. I read the recent book by an Aussie - I found that one boring, self-centered and I was not convinced he even hiked the whole trail - his descriptions of the Washington trail were skimpy and misleading.This book by Townsend I loved. This guy is enamored with trail hiking and seems to even like the hardships of thru backpacking, and he has a singular sensitivity to the flora, fauna and the geography of the trail, and a love for fellow hikers and the humanity with whom he came into contact. He makes it interesting for couch potatoes who will never set foot on the trail. His narrative was fun and detailed for one written 30 years after this walks. Of the possibly 12 such narratives I have read, this was one of the best. Great job Chris. Keep on trucking the trails.

I have read a bunch of books on people doing the PCT, and this one is not bad. He explains the trail pretty good but I couldn't finish it because it so boring. It's more like reading a journal someone would right just before going to bed. Not one picture or describing much about the journey and people on the trail. I still have it and if I ever run out of things to read I might pick it up again and finish the end.

I have read many books on hiking these trails. I have to admit my favorites are on hiking the Appalachian Trail. I was born in Syracuse Ny. I vacationed in the Adirondack mountains as a young girl. I have lived in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Southern Michigan and Florida. So, I may be partial to the Eastern parts of the United States. I have never been a long-distance hiker. I just like living vicariously through these hikers who write about their adventures. Thank you all who take the time to write about your hikes.

I enjoyed this book! A good writer--he has longer chapters--the Desert, the High Sierras, etc. But the story of his thru-hike is an easy read. One note: this was his hike back in the 80s--so it is a little aged, but it read good to me. I recommend it!

I am rereading this book for second time, and I have really enjoyed it. My copy is the kindle edition without pictures, and I would have gladly paid more for one with the images. The maps are there though, and I sometimes google images of the locations discussed in the book.Chris townsend is my favorite writer about all things backpacking.If you go to his blog, Chris Townsend Outdoors, he talks about the gear he used during his PCT walk and what gear he would use today.This book is a great read.

Very good read, enjoyed reading about his journey, ok was quite disappointed that no pictures were included. He talked about his cameras and then doesn't share any pics.

Hopefully reader, you are familiar with Chris Townsend - one could hardly be unaware of him if at all active on the UK walking scene, such is his longevity and credibility as a commentator on matters of long distance hiking, wild camping, equipment and techniques to name a few. Recently he has even become quite the 'luvvy' featuring centrally in two of Terry Abraham's films, and with cameos in others - I'd actually seen some gear features on Youtube before I ever read any of Chris's books, so by the time I did, they read in his voice. Happily, he remains active as a writer, blogger and columnist on the outdoors, and has written many books about his travels, and on the techniques and paraphernalia we all obsess about.His most recent book gives an account of his walk on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1982, a time at which "thru-hiking" was a fledgling concept and the trail attracted a few dozens of hikers compared with the hundreds and thousands who attempt it today. By that time, Townsend was an experienced walker, having completed a trip from Lands end to John O'Groats, but admits in the book that he was naive about the demands and hardships he would encounter on the PCT. One incident that presaged walking practice today was his abandonment of heavy boots almost immediately the walk began in the desert, preferring to wear his running shoes that were only taken for camp comfort. He returned to the boots in the snowy High Sierra, but finished the walk in a pair of what we would now regard as approach shoes much against supposed expert opinion at the time. If you read any account of the PCT today, you will find no-one wears big boots, especially in the desert; and its insights like this that give the impression he was as much sculpting the way hiking would be done in the future as enduring the walk in the moment. I don't suppose he thought of it in those terms then. Most of the adjustments and compromises he made seem to have been a matter of accelerated evolution as a walker learning on the hoof what wasn't working and how he could deal with it.Its testament to his spirit and toughness then that he was among a relatively few completers that year. The PCT association's website records as few as 11 people finishing the walk in 1982, whereas the total for 2014 was 371 - notwithstanding that some names may be missing.Townsend compiled journals throughout the trip upon which he has been able to depend in recalling detail of individual days - his thoughts and actions revived after more than thirty years, lending the book a feeling of documentary that teaches us more about today's likely experience than a simple account of a walk undertaken last year would do. We already know about Goretex and Meths stoves, Trail magic and Bear canisters - what this book does is strip away the necessary but distracting ephemera around which we plan long distance trips today (I know because I am already making gear lists for my attempt in 2016), and gives us insight into the environment, the effort involved, the reaction of people he met, and perhaps most importantly, the impression it made upon him, shaping his life and career thereafter. On his website, there is a tab detailing the major walks he's completed up to about 2002 (probably needs an update - at least the Scottish Watershed walk is missing). He makes a major trip every three to four years in the sequence, some of them astonishingly ambitious to my eye, and one wonders if he would have dreamed of doing any of those if the PCT had been a disaster.For those who might aspire to trying a long distance hike, on the PCT or anywhere else for that matter, you would do far worse than read this book. Its often said that state of mind and determination are the most vital bit of gear you need and weigh exactly nothing, and this above all is what comes over. I think back to one amusing passage of indignant comment he makes concerning a hiker who is roundly suspected of fibbing about how much actual walking he'd done. He points out that its nobody's business how much or little of the walk one actually treads - indeed there are probably as many or even more 'section hikers' who do a little bit here and there than thru-hikers - but to lie about what you've done is just disrespectful to others who have put the sweat in.Its indicative of the simple honesty of using one's own two feet to cover long distances that is at the centre of all of Townsend's books, and this one is no different, but it has one extra quality that makes it important. It amounts to a walking manual - not a gear manual or a backpackers guide (he does those too!), but a manual on how to walk, think about walking, how to stop and not walk at times; and what you might get out of all of it.Recommended.

Chris Townsend is one of the world's leading authorities on backpacking. He's been doing it for a long time and has written many books on the subject. In fact, his Backpacker's Handbook was a major source of inspiration for me as a teenager, when I was first developing a love of the outdoors and wanted to try backpacking for myself. It went in my rucksack in 2003 when I embarked on my first multi-day trip. I always look forward to new books from this author.Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles is an account of Chris's 1982 thru-hike of the epic Pacific Crest Trail. The book stands out for several reasons, and readers will be blown away by the sheer scale — not only of the landscape through which the author voyages, but the scale of the challenge itself. This is a really big walk. Thru-hikers routinely take up to six months to complete the 2,663-mile route, and it crosses a variety of wild terrain including remote deserts and the High Sierra. Even in the 21st century, the PCT requires real commitment, fitness and experience to complete ... so what was it like thirty-odd years ago?Part of the value of this book comes from Chris, now a backpacker with a lifetime of experience, looking back on the hike and offering a retrospective view. He frequently refers to the journal he kept on the trail and includes many photographs originally taken on slide film (no digital cameras in those days, so shots had to be rationed). The real eye-opener is the gear. Nowadays, lightweight gear is the norm, but many of the innovations we take for granted nowadays simply didn't exist back then. In particular I'm astonished by the weight of his pack as he crossed the Sierra, with many days' food supply plus ice axe, crampons, snowshoes, and other items essential for the high mountains.He learned many important lessons along the way, perhaps the most important being that thick, heavy boots (more or less the only hiking footwear available at the time) were not ideal for the task, particularly in the desert sections. He quickly switched to the running shoes he carried as backup footwear and ended up wearing them for most of the rest of the walk. This tactic was ahead of its time, but has now become widely accepted.For me, what makes this book really shine is the adventure itself. It's impossible not to be captivated and enthralled by the majesty of the landscape, and the monumental challenge of taking on a route of this calibre. Before reading Rattlesnakes I knew that the PCT was a long route, but I didn't appreciate how hard or committing it was, or that it joined together some of the wildest and most beautiful landscapes in the USA. Only a handful of other hikers completed the PCT in 1982. It is, quite simply, one of the great foot journeys of the world — and this is a fine account of it.This is a great book, skilfully written with charm and authority, and it will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in backpacking or wild places.

Well written and enjoyable tale detailing the author's hike over the PCT back in the 80's (when backpacks, and their contents, were heavy and tough - albeit not as tough as the walkers themselves). It's very difficult for the reader to really get a grip of an adventure of this kind but Chris is a very descriptive writer and mind pictures do develop in your mind as you go through this incredible journey.Fantastic price on kindle - well worth reading.

Chris Towsend was thru-hiking before I even knew what thru-hiking was. Back then, the Pacific crest Trail was not something most people had heard of, and a mere handful of starry eyed hikers tackled the challenge each year. Today it's thousands.A refreshing look back at what the PCT was like in the early days, before ultralighters, cuben fibre, and fixations with how much your pack weighed mattered.Written with Chris's usual enthusiasm for our outdoor spaces, it's a wonderful insight into life on the greatest long distance hiking trail in the world. Essential reading for anyone not just into hiking, but appreciative of the bigger adventures that enrich us all.

Fantastic book! I enjoyed this book so much I read it twice in quick succession. I like Chris Townsend and as a hiker, he is one of the first sources I turn to when I want hiking information. His style is no nonsense and matter of fact but always engaging and interesting. What he doesn't know about hiking really isn't worth knowing. This account of his 2,600 mile trek along the Pacific Crest Trail is all the more amazing because he undertook it in the eighties, long before this was a well known trek and without the help of the wealth of information available today on the internet.